YOU WILL regret this decision for the rest of your life.
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Those were the words of Dene Broadbelt's parents to their son as he dropped out of school the first week of year 11.
"I will show you something and I hope it works," Mr Broadbelt told his parents.
Now the 19-year-old is holding his head high as he makes his mark as the youngest program director of a radio station in the country.
Mr Broadbelt shared with the Daily Liberal his quick journey to his soon-to-be top job in the industry.
Quitting school he attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)?and graduated from a short radio course landing him a position at a Canberra radio station.
Soon after, a Broome radio station saw his talent as a radio announcer and offered him a job.
"It was a life changing experience to go to Broome," he said.
"The moment I stepped off the plane I said I like this place except the heat."
Mr Broadbent worked as the afternoon announcer and his voice echoed across Western Australia.
The move from the nation's capital to the far west coast was quite a big jump, he said.
After a year in Broome and wanting to be closer to home he moved to Dubbo to work at Zoo FM.
From a young age he said he dreamed to be "one of these cool people interviewing celebrities" and he loved the world of music.
"I was really good in English and music and my careers teacher told me to get into media," he said.
Throughout his high school years he volunteered at community radio and decided this was the career he wanted to pursue.
"Once mum and dad saw I passed the course they were really supportive," he said.
"They had a change of mind and said, 'Now we can see you've got potential and had a good reason to leave school'."
Mr Broadbelt said after six months working at Zoo FM he saw a program director role at a Goulburn radio station advertised.
At first he had mixed feelings and thoughts about applying for the job.
He believed he had the ability to meet the challenges of overseeing three radio stations but he was worried the employer - who he has declined to name - would think he was too young and inexperienced.
After much thought he applied for the job on a Friday and received an email stating they would be in contact on Monday.
On the Monday morning he was checking his emails every couple of seconds and hoping the phone would ring.
The phone rang and an interview was scheduled for the Friday in Canberra, he said.
"On the Monday morning after the interview I got a call saying, 'Congratulations, you've got the job'," he said.
"I was gobsmacked. I was over the moon and jumping up and down."
Mr Broadbelt said he was looking forward to the challenges of managing everything from news to commercials and hiring and firing at the radio stations.
His advice for those wanting a career in radio was to start with community stations and get as much experience as possible.
"If you put your head down and focus you will do well and achieve your dream," he said.